


The car won't start

by Tealshirt



Category: Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe, Illustrator!Steve, M/M, Mechanic!Bucky, Post-Serum Steve Rogers, meet cute?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-25
Updated: 2015-09-25
Packaged: 2018-04-23 09:40:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,051
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4872013
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tealshirt/pseuds/Tealshirt
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve was late for work. His alarm didn't go off, he was out of coffee, he’d nearly walked out the door with two completely different shoes on, and he almost forgot his phone, remembering at the last second to grab it from where it had been charging next to his bed. Oh, and his car won't start. Great.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The car won't start

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know where this came from to be honest. But it's here now, enjoy it. Feedback is appreciated. Also this wasn't beta'd and my computer shut down right in the middle of editing so tell me if you spot any mistakes!

Steve was late for work. His alarm didn't go off, he was out of coffee, he’d nearly walked out the door with two completely different shoes on, and he almost forgot his phone, remembering at the last second to grab it from where it had been charging next to his bed. Peggy was not going to be happy, and even if they’d went to school together, and were close friends, Steve still didn’t wanna upset the boss lady.

So when he walked outside-- the frigid October air turning the tip of his nose cold already-- and hopped in his little blue Honda Civic, only to have it not start, Steve knew he was fucked.

He smacked his head against the steering wheel--at least three times-- and groaned. Steve sighed and dug around in his pocket for his phone. He dialed the office and waited for it to ring.

“Captain Children’s Publishing, this is Sharon speaking, how may I help you?” A polite voice answered.

“Sharon? It’s Steve. I don’t think I’ll be making it in today. You mind breaking the news to Peg?”

“Ooooh,” Sharon sighed, “She’s not gonna like that. You know we have to get those copies out next week, and the department still needs to review your sketches.”

“I know. Tell her she can dock my pay if she has to, but I really will not be able to make it. My car isn’t starting. I’m gonna see if I can get it towed to a shop. Dammit, there goes those concert tickets I wanted.”

“You know you could-,” Sharon suggested.

“I’m not borrowing any money. I’ll be fine. Can you just make sure Peggy gets the message?”

Sharon sighed, “Sure thing, Steve.”

“Thanks, Sharon. Talk to you later.”

Steve hung up the phone and stared at his steering wheel for a moment. “Ughhh,” He whined, rubbing at his eyes.

He opened up the internet browser on his phone and began typing away, looking for an auto shop near by. He finally found one, only two blocks from his apartment building. He called the number up and waited for it to ring. The person who answered had a thick New York accent, one that even Steve found a little over the top.

“Soldier’s Auto Shop. How can I help ya?”

“Hi, um, my car won’t start and I saw on your website that you do towing also. Can you tell me how much it would be to get my car over to your shop?” Steve asked, nervously twisting his pants with one hand.

The man asked for the address Steve was at, and then calculated the price out for him.

“That’ll be about $200 dollars,” The man answered.

Steve choked on his saliva, and the man on the other side coughed politely.

“That’s a little more than I expected,” He said quietly.

“Blame the boss man. You still want the tow?”

Steve sighed and mentally let go of his hopes of also getting the game station he’d been saving up for next month too.

“Yeah. How soon can you be here?”

“I’ll send someone right out.”

“Thanks.”

Steve threw his phone into the passenger seat and rubbed his hands threw his hair. “Fuck me,” He mumbled into his dash.

He rubbed his hands together to try and keep himself warm. Stupid car. Stupid Mondays.

He waited fifteen minutes sat in his car for the tow to arrive. As he looked out the window he noticed a dirty metallic tow truck pulling up.

Steve got out and stood by his car, shivering. The tow truck pulled into the parking lot with a loud _'grrrring'_  sound. When it shut of, the door of the vehicle opened and the driver hopped down. Out of the truck, came the most attractive man Steve had ever seen.

He had dark hair, pulled back in a bun, slight hint of stubble showing along his shapely jaw. His face looked like he should have been a model and he had a body to match. Overall, he was Steve's type.

He sauntered up, dirty jeans that hugged him perfectly, nearly makings Steve swoon.

"Hello," he said in a Brooklyn accent resembling Steve's own.

"Hi," Steve said, trying to not show the stranger just how much his presence alone made Steve wanna drool.

"You Steve Rogers?" He asked, looking over at Steve's car.

Steve nodded and then remembered his manners. "Yes. Are you who I talked to in the phone?"

The man laughed. "No. That's another mechanic. My name is Bucky.”

Steve smiled and held out his hand. “Nice to meet you.”

Bucky nodded and stepped around to the hood of the car, staring patiently at Steve. Steve watched him, confused. Bucky raised an eyebrow.

“Can you pop the hood?”

“Oh! Oh shit, yeah. One sec,” Steve yelped.

He dived for the car door and yanked it open, pulling the lever on the underside hood and watching as Bucky dug under it for second and lifted it the rest of the way up.

Steve stood watching, trying his best not to hover, but he still felt like he was in the way. Bucky seemed to look so too, if the looks he kept shooting up at Steve were anything to go by.

“I’m still gonna have to take it into the shop but I _think_  I know what wrong.”

Steve exhaled harshly. “Okay. Tell me quickly though,....Is it gonna cost a lot?”

Bucky’s face gave nothing away as he shrugged and shut the hood. He went and got in the tow truck, backing it up and getting Steve’s car hooked on.

When he was done, he wiped his hands off on a dirty rag he kept hanging from his pocket, and waved his hand at Steve.

“You coming?”

Steve nodded frantically and threw himself up into the truck. Bucky got in after him and started the truck. The ride to the mechanics was quiet.

Soldier’s Auto Shop looked ancient; The outside walls were gray and depressing, and the general yard look unkempt. Steve couldn’t say the inside of the building looked much better.

There was a pale man, covered in grease, sitting inside the building behind a desk. He was watching a tiny television and even didn’t look up when Steve walked in, even with the chime on the door.

Steve knocked on the desk, startling the man.

“Huh? Oh. You the one I talked to on the phone?” He grunted.

Steve nodded. He placed his hands on the desk, but instantly withdrew them. It was covered in a fine layer of dust.

“Would it kill someone to clean up this place a little?” He mumbled, wiping his hands on his jeans.

The man at the counter snorted. “You’d have to talk to the boss man about that,” He said. He handed Steve paperwork and then turned back around to look at the little t.v. behind him.

Steve pursed his lips and took his clipboard full of paperwork over to the small seating area. The shop door chimed again and Steve looked up.

Bucky was walking towards the front desk, where the man was still not paying any attention. He knocked on the desk--just like Steve had-- but didn’t get any acknowledgement. This prompted him to look around for a moment, spot the cord for the t.v. and unplug it.

The man behind the desk shot up and barked out a loud “Hey!”

Bucky gave him a sugar-sweet smile. “I don’t pay you to sit on your ass, Bill. Now do some work.”

The man--Bill-- grumbled but obliged, throwing on a hat and exiting the shop. Bucky glanced around for a second and then came and sat by Steve.

“Sorry about him. Now on to your car; I know exactly what’s wrong.”

Steve grinned. “That’s great! What is it?”

Bucky looked grumpy for moment. “It’s probably better if I just show you,” He replied.

Steve nodded and followed Bucky out. The garage area was mostly clean, and it held four cars, two were jacked up--including Steve's.

"Oh god. That's not a good sign is it?"

"It's not so bad. It's mostly just so I can still see, and get to where I need to," Bucky said. He waved Steve under the car, pointing up. Steve looked but didn't see anything out of the ordinary.

"I don't understand."

Bucky sighed and stepped closer, until his arm was over Steve's shoulder--even if he was two or so inches shorter-- and then Steve saw.

"The hell?"

"Yeah. I'll have to order a new one. It's not a big deal, just a lil swap and you're good," Bucky said, his hot breath hitting Steve's neck.

"And...how much is that gonna cost me?" Steve asked meekly.

Bucky rocked head back and forth. "I'll tally it up later," and he gave Steve a warm grin.

His shoulders were still tense, but he nodded. "Do you know when it should be fixed?"

"Sometime next week, at the latest."

"Alright. Okay. Yeah.... Um thanks. I'll just get going now if you don't need me to fill out anything else?"

Bucky's warm grin dropped. He jolted forward as Steve turned to exit, grabbing Steve's arm.

"Do you... Have a way to get home?" He asked.

Steve closed his eyes when he remembered he'd rode in the truck over and that he was out a car for at least three days.

"I can just call-," Steve answered.

"-Nonsense," Bucky said. He led Steve back into the office, going into a back room briefly. He came out jangling some keys.

Steve followed the over enthusiastic man out to a shiny black Camaro. Man-bun and he drove a nice car? A man after Steve's own heart, definitely.

Too bad his brain-to-mouth filter was fucked.

"You're not like a serial killer or anything right?"

Bucky shot him an amused grin. " I am not."

"See that's something a serial killer would say."

If anything his amused grin got bigger.

"Do you want the ride or not?" He asked leaning against the side of the car.

"Shouldn't you be in there working? I can just take a taxi and you can go back to work-,"

"No need. Here comes next shift."

Another stunning mechanic was walking up, waving at Bucky.

"Hey _James_ ," he said, clapping Bucky on the back.

"How many times do I have to tell you, Sam? Call me Bucky."

"Sorry. Did I throw off your flirting game?" He asked, with a fleeting glance at Steve.

"Yes," Bucky answered deadpan.

Sam cackled all the way into the shop. Steve fought to keep his blush under control. _Was Bucky actually flirting with him?_

Bucky jingled his keys again, and Steve sighed, resigned to his fate.

Bucky didn't say anything as they pulled out of the parking lot, only asked for directions as they stopped at a light. Halfway to Steve's, Bucky broke the silence.

"You're cute when you blush."

This brought about a whole other reason for Steve to blush. Bucky _had_  been flirting with him.

"Sorry," Bucky said, "Didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

"It's fine," Steve replied. He was nervously twisting his jeans again.

In his head, Steve was mentally working up the courage to ask Bucky on a date. He didn't notice they'd parked and were sitting in front of his building.

Bucky cleared his throat, and Steve's head snapped up.

"We're here," Bucky said.

"Oh."

They'd arrived and he still hasn't worked up the courage.  He pushed open the door and began crawling out of the Camaro.

**  
  
**

He was speed walking towards his building, when behind him, a car door opened, and then his name was called.

He turned to look at Bucky, "Yes?"

"Would you like to...maybe get coffee tomorrow at noon?"

Steve smiled.

"Sure. You don't have to work?" He asked, walking back towards Bucky a little.

"I own the shop. Don't have to be there if I don't wanna," Bucky answered.

Suddenly things made sense.

"Okay. Yeah, sure. Let's do it," Steve agreed.

Bucky grinned and they exchanged numbers. Steve stood in front of him for a minute.

"Okay. Um...."

"I'll come get you?" Bucky offered.

**  
** Steve smiled and nodded. He walked towards his building feeling a little bit better about his day afterwards.

**Author's Note:**

> Come follow my [tumblr](http://tealshirt.tumblr.com/) !


End file.
